


Trick or Trade

by Elenhin



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Easter Bunny, Gen, Selling Anders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 06:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1540457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elenhin/pseuds/Elenhin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sort of shared idea between me and Aramairandme81,  It is Easter, it is a time of Bunnies and Eggs, and more bunnies. Chocolate and a few more eggs. </p>
<p>It's also the time to find someone who's willing to buy an annoying sibling, or at least someone who will trade you for him. </p>
<p>Mike figures Anders could get him a good deal...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trick or Trade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aramirandme81](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aramirandme81/gifts).



_** Trick Or Trade ** _

  
  


Mike is ten, which means he’s just about an adult, at least in his own eyes. Anders is just about two years old, which means he is hardly more than a baby. He’s a rather weird baby, but still a baby. Sometimes he hardly talks at all, sometimes he makes up words that are not real and then you can’t shut him up no matter what you do. Then when he do talk, and don’t talk gibberish, he talks really properly. He won’t use ‘baby words’ at all. He has a friend Thomas, whose sister is just older than Anders, and she talks baby talk all the time. Thomas tried to talk baby talk to Anders, who just blinked and looked at him confused, then went off to play. 

 

Anders really isn’t so bad, not as far as baby brothers are concerned but he always have to watch him. That’s the part that really gets to Mike at times. Anders is too small to play properly. You can’t let him join a game of rugby or he would literally get killed. He’s scared of almost everything that Mike thinks is fun. So whenever he has Anders with him, he can’t do anything that he wants to do. He has to watch Anders, he has to make sure Anders do not do something he isn’t supposed to do. He has to make sure Anders has something to eat. He has to make sure that Anders do not get cold.    
  
There is a list that appears to be a mile long on what he has to do. He loves Anders, really, most of the time anyway. But sometimes it would be better to be rid of him, or trade him in. He could probably get a puppy for him, and you don’t have to make sure they’re wearing warm enough clothes as they have fur. It’s easier to fed them as well, you just put a bowl of leftovers down on the floor. They don’t fuss about it and refuse to eat like Anders sometimes do. He tried feeding him like a puppy, figuring it’d be easier. Anders do always make a mess on the table. He won’t make a mess on himself, he can eat without getting very messy at all. Unlike some other babies, Anders do not like to be messy. He do not care about the table though, and he’s not above tipping food he don’t like out on the table. 

 

So when he was fussing Mike figured he could trick him into eating. He made it into a game, got Anders to pretend he was a puppy, which Anders did with great enthusiasm. He’s yapping and going around on hands and knees, and even sniffs the table leg. So Mike figures he can get him to eat his lunch, putting it all in a bowl and putting it on the floor. Though just as Anders starts to eat their mum came in and she sure wasn’t happy about it. It didn’t matter that Mike declared he got Anders to eat. It doesn’t matter what he says. She’s furious about it and Mike can’t see why. 

 

Of course as she yells at him Anders starts crying his eyes out, which makes mum even more angry. She don’t get it’s the way she’s yelling that is making Anders cry. Instead she says it’s the way Mike treats him. 

 

Which means Mike is getting pretty fed up with him and can’t help but wonder if sometimes it wouldn’t be better if they got rid of Anders. After all, they got along fine without him for eight years, do they really need him? It’s not like he’s really all that useful for anything. Well, except there is hardly any adult he can’t charm. All he has to do is look up at them and smile. They will give him sweets and all kind of treats. That would be useful, if Anders wasn’t mean enough to keep it all to himself. 

 

He kept all the stickers the nurse gave him, even though she let him pic two extra sheets, just cause he cried. Then when she said he could have stickers for being brave he started smiling so he got extra, and he stuck them all on his closet door. He didn’t give Mike any, and it looks stupid too, becuase they are all down by the bottom since he can’t reach higher. 

 

Now at Easter there is a sort of festival in town, all sorts of games and chocolate eggs everywhere. He would have hunted for eggs with the kids his age, but he can’t as he has to mind Anders. Anders got to hunt for eggs with the babies. Those are too easy to find. They’re just lying in the open, and Mike being old aren’t allowed to pick them up. 

 

It would have been terrible if one of the adults hadn’t taken pity on him and given him some eggs as well. 

 

The babies got baskets though, plastic baskets, and Anders has a blue one that he’s clutching hard in one hand now. He has been eating chocolate ever since the egg hunt, but at least he don’t have chocolate all over his face like most of the other babies. He really is quite neat, but he won’t share. Mike tried to taste a few of them, and Anders started wailing until he got the attention of some old lady.    
  
The result, Anders got more chocolate and Mike got a scolding. 

 

So yes, he’s quite fed up with Anders at the moment. 

 

It’s when he sees a girl walk over to one of the Easter bunnies that he gets an ide. He knows the Easter bunny is just a guy in a suit, but he’s got plenty of chocolate eggs that he has been giving to kids. All of them get one. Then the girl walks over with a brightly though not so skillfully painted egg and begs to trade it for a chocolate one, and the man gives her one. 

 

If you can get chocolate eggs for a crappy painted egg, then surely he can get some for Anders. 

 

Walking up  to him he clears his throat. “If I can have some eggs, you can have him,” he nods to Anders who is oblivious to what Mike is doing. 

 

“Sorry,” the man blinks. 

 

“You traded chocolate for an egg, I’d like to trade him,” Mike pushes Anders forward. “I bet he can be useful to you, everyone thinks he’s cute. But we’ve had him for two years now.”

 

“So you think it’s time to trade him in?” the man muses and Mike nods. 

 

“He’s good for you, you can’t run the race anyway, but I could if I didn’t have to watch him. And a couple of eggs is really cheap for him.” 

 

“Alright, it’s a deal,” the man shakes his hands, hands Mike a couple of the eggs and so Mike turns to walk away. Anders stands looking up at him with big slightly confused eyes, biting his lip as he frowns. 

 

“Don’t worry, he’ll regret it in a bit,” the man smiles as he crouches down in front of him. “And until then, I’m sure you can have some fun with me, huh?” 

 

“Can I have a chocolate?” Anders asks hopefully. If the Easter bunny tells him Mike will be back, he’s sure of it. That doesn’t mean he likes Mike trading him though. He might be small, but he knows what Mike did, and he’s not happy about it. 

  
Letting Mike know can wait though, right now there’s a world of chocolate to explore. 

 

The bunny man laughs and hands him an egg and Anders bites into it eagerly. There’s a cream center in the chocolate egg, and he gives a small squeal as he discovers this. The bunny man laughs as he sees the smile on his face, Anders looking up at him with a smile of admiration. Any bunny man who can make chocolate treats like that is someone Anders can admire. 

 

“You liked that, didn’t you?” he grins. “Well, you can have one more, but you’d better watch yourself so you don’t eat yourself into a tummy ache.” 

 

Anders makes a face, scrunching up his nose. No, he do not want to do that. He knows enough to know that, but he can’t help but think the chocolate was delicious and that he very much would like just one more. 

 

The problem is that it’s hard to restrict yourself that way. Besides, even if the bunny man is very nice Anders misses Mike. Well, he’s started to worry about what will happen later. It’s all good to sit eating chocolate with the bunny man, but what happens when it’s time to go to bed? He’ll miss his room and bed terribly if he can’t go home. He’s got a couple of stuffed toys, he’s not allowed to sleep with them in his bed, because his dad says he must grow big and strong. You can’t do that if you have stuffed toys in your bed. He can lie and look at them until he falls asleep though, and he can play with them. 

 

He’d miss them terribly if he can’t go home again, and he likes his crayons too. 

 

He even winds up sniffing a little, wiping his nose on his sleeve. 

 

“You alright?” the bunny man asks, sounding a little confirmed. 

 

“Uhu,” Anders nods. Dad will get mad if he’s weak, but then he remembers that won’t matter if he can’t go home. “Can I never go home again?” he whines. 

 

“Sure you can,” he kneels down and smooths down his hair a bit. “Look, I’m pretty sure your brother is gonna start regretting what he did. You’re just here so I can keep an eye on you until then. So we can be sure nothing bad happens to you. Your family won’t go home without you.” 

 

Anders wishes he could believe that, but it’s hard. Mum is too tired and too sad, dad thinks he’s too small and weak, and Mike that is the only one he could always count on sold him. So he can’t help but be sad, and he’s almost crying when the bunny man gives him another few pieces of chocolate.  

 

It helps a bit even if he’s still worried that Mike do not care about him anymore. 

 

Mike is quite happy to be able to do things without Anders for once. He’s having a lot of fun, but as the day moves on, there is a nagging feeling of doubt in his stomach. Perhaps he has done something wrong. 

 

The nagging feeling is getting stronger and stronger until he starts wondering if the problem isn’t that he’s sick. He sure feels sick. There’s a cold heavy lump in his stomach. He’s feeling almost nauseated, something is very much wrong and he thinks about finding his mum and telling her he’s sick, but then she would probably ask where Anders is. 

 

That’s the problem he realizes, he sold Anders… 

 

Anders an be the most annoying kid in the world, he’s whining and crying, and whenever someone sees him cry they are all over him. It can make Mike furious and he just want to get rid of Anders and he do not care how. 

 

Then there are the other times, when Anders meets him by the door after school and just seems to know right away if Mike has had a bad day. He’ll go to any lengths to make it better then. He even tried to climb up the counter to get the cookies once, of course he fell down and they had to go to the doctor, but Mike couldn’t help but appreciate him trying since he’s scared of climbing up like that. He did anyway, to make Mike happy. Becuase Mike will sometimes get down the cookies if Anders has had a rough day, so scared cowardly Anders tried to do the same. Anders can get the rooster on the neighbouring farm calm, the one that hates Mike. The rooster really hates him and if it’s out Mike can’t get past it, but Anders can. He will even pet it, and Mike can get past. He’s not supposed to go down that way really, but when he’s been goofing off with Rob and is late he takes the shortcut. 

 

Anders who hate getting dirty still crawled in under the barn to get Mike’s ball because Mike was too big. He will do things like that, because he admires Mike. If Mike asks him, Anders will do almost anything so he won’t disappoint him, and he sold him…. 

 

He sold him for chocolate, and he’s not exactly proud over himself and he still feels sicks. He feels literally sick. 

 

A part of him knows it’s kind of illegal to sell and buy kids, so he should be able to get Anders back. Thinking that if the man he sold him to won’t give him back he can get the police to get him back. 

 

The problem is he will have to admit he sold him. 

 

It’s with apprehension and not a little fear that he approaches the easter bunny, and he sees Anders sitting on the ground there. He can tell right away that Anders has been crying. His cheeks are red and his face has snoot around the nose. 

 

He hates that, normally it makes his skin crawl but right now he’s feeling guilty too. 

 

He bites his lip as he approaches and the man looks up. He waits for Mike to speak though, so he clears his throat. 

 

“I uh, I kinda need Anders back…” he starts. 

 

“You sold him, and now you want him back?” he nods thoughtfully. “I imagined you would change your mind. In fact, I told little Anders here as much.” 

 

Mike shines up, relieved, “so I can have him back then?” He reaches for Anders, but is stopped.

 

“Now hold on there, you sold him to me, you can’t just have him back because you change your mind.” 

 

“I wanna go back,” Anders whimpers quietly, fresh tears rolling down his face. 

 

“I have to take him back,” Mike declares desperately. “Mum will get mad.” 

 

“As she should be,” he nods. “Really, selling your brother for chocolate. I know responsibility can be hard, but what if you hadn’t been so lucky as to pick me? What if it had been someone who might actually have left with him, could have hurt him. You are old enough to know what some do with kids. It could very well have happened.” 

 

If Mike had felt sick before, he felt worse now. He felt literally faint and had to take several deep breaths so he wouldn’t throw up. 

 

Anders made a small sound, getting to his feet and making his way to Mike, wrapping his arms around his leg. 

 

“Oh, fuck,” Mike mumbled. 

 

“I see you understand now,” the man nodded solemnly. “And I doubt you will do the same again.” 

 

“Never,” Mike can hardly speak. He still feels like he can hardly breath, and Anders is tugging on his leg, crying quietly as he looks up at him with his impossibly big eyes. 

 

“You’re lucky I believe you,” he states. “But you still can’t simply get him back. You sold him, which means, you must give me something to get him back.” 

 

“Anything,” Mike exclaims. “I’ll give all I got, I got money at home and I can sell my bike and stuff.” 

 

The man snorts. “I’m not talking money. You’re gonna help me clean up here,” he looks at the garbage that is lying around. Even if people has been throwing most of the garbage into the barrels that are placed out for it, there is a lot. “That’s what it’ll cost you.” 

 

“Okay,” Mike nods. He’s really willing to do anything. “I’m sorry, I just…” he breaks off, he’s not sure what he wanted to say. 

 

“It’s not easy being young and having to take care of siblings all the time,” now he sounds a bit more compassionate. “But you are old enough to know what you did, which is why I’m so hard on you. At least you will be getting him back. Now, I imagine he should go home, so take care of it, then come back here.” 

 

“I will,” Mike promises.

 

“No,” Anders speaks up. “Not.” 

 

“What?” Mike blinks confused. 

 

“You sold me, so I’m mad.” Anders states, his lower lips wobbling as he wipes snoot from his face. “So you gotta pay me too to get me back.” 

 

Mike swallows, he can’t quite figure out what Anders is talking about, his brain refuses to work properly, and now Anders is looking annoyed. 

 

“You gotta pay Easterbunny to get me back, and you gotta pay me too,” he declares firmly. “Cause I’m really, really mad. I am, cause you were bad, so there,” he let’s go of Mike, a scowl on his small face. 

 

Mike just stands blinking, this he had never expected. That he would be in trouble he had known the minute he realized what he had done, but that Anders would kick up a fuss. Anders never does it, not like that. He’ll fuss about food and fuss about being tired, but he’s never refused to go with Mike before, and yet there are fresh tears coming to his eyes now, and yet his small fists are clenched. 

 

“I thought I’d never go home again,” Anders suddenly bursts out. “I thought you’d never take me home, and I was scared!” with that cry he beats ineffectually against Mike’s thighs with his small fists. He can’t hit hard for it to really hurt, but it stings a little and Mike feels another surge of nausea through his stomach. He hadn’t thought about how Anders would feel at all. Not when he sold him, not when he went to get him. He just assumed Anders would be grateful that Mike took him home again. 

 

Anders sure has the right to be mad, but hitting his legs won’t make anything better, and he winces when Anders hits his fist on his knee. Apparently that hurts Anders more for he drops his hands with another wail. So Mike kneels down to wrap his arms around him, holding him even though his face is a disgusting mess of tears, snoot and a little chocolate.    
  
Even Anders can’t eat chocolate without getting some on his face. 

 

“I’m sorry Anders,” he starts slowly. “It was rotten of me, and I was mean, and I didn’t mean to do that to you. I just, even grown ups do stupid things Anders.” 

 

“You are not grown up, you’re not dumb,” Anders mumbled. “You are better than grown ups.” 

 

“Not all the time Andy, and now I was rotten just like them,” Mike decides. “And I’ll give you anything you want. You’re right, I gotta pay you to, so you can have anything.” 

 

Anders nods, “I get to sleep in your bed all week, and you gotta read me stories every night, a month.” He wipes at his face as he declares it. 

 

Mike is stunned, he had expected demands of money or sweets. Anders haven’t been above that before. Even if his idea of the value can be a bit amusing. He has not quite grasped the actual value of money yet. Mike has made use of that, and he never felt bad about it before but now he does. To have him make the demand of closeness and time with his brother instead takes him by surprise. 

 

“Bedtime story every night for two months,” he offers and watches Anders’ jaw drop. 

 

“Really?” 

 

Mike nods. “I promise.” 

 

Anders turns to the man who’s been listening quietly, “that’s more, right?” 

 

“Yes it is,” he confirms and Mike smiles. Anders talks extremely well for his age, but his math skills aren’t quite up to par. 

 

“Okay, but you make me food at home to,” Anders declares. “Something yummy.” 

 

“As soon as I get back Anders. I’m gonna take you to Mum, and I will make you something before you go to sleep. But I have to clean up here too then.”

 

“Okay,” Anders nods, turning to the man. “Thank you.” 

 

“You’re very welcome,” he smiles. “Now you’d better go with your brother and go home and get some rest. I imagine you’re feeling that chocolate a bit huh?” 

 

Nodding Anders gives him a sheepish smile and rubs his stomach. 

 

“Come here,” Mike lifts him up to ride on his shoulders and Anders accepts it. He can tell how bad Mike feels about what he did when he does that. He hardly ever does. 

 

“I’m not mad anymore,” he declares, patting Mike’s head. “But you still gotta read stories and let me sleep in your bed, but I’m not mad.” 

 

“I’ll read you stories,” Mike promises. “I’ll even go to the library to get a new story book.” 

 

Anders’ jaw drops in surprise, “oh, you feel bad.” 

 

“Yeah, yeah I do,” he confirms. 

 

“It okay, I’m not gonna tell mum,” Anders leans forward as much as he can, kissing Mike somewhere in the forehead. 

 

“Thanks ‘bro,” Mike squeezes his leg lightly. He takes Anders to mum, and tells her he hurt his hand a little. Though he do not tell her that it was through hitting Mike. Then he tells her he’s promised to help clean up. She’s not really happy about taking Anders home on her own but can’t argue about it so she simply takes him by the hand. 

 

It takes forever for Mike to clean up the fields and he’s starting to wonder how people can throw so much garbage around. The man he sold Anders to grins as he watches him, and do not really say a lot to him. It’s only when Mike ties up the last sack that he comes over to him. 

 

“Well, at least you learn from your mistake, and you show some remorse,” he muses. “I’m just gonna give you one advice then you can go. I have two younger brothers, and a sister, and I know how annoying they can be. But nothing is worse than when you do not have them anymore. Think about that the next time you just want to be rid of him.”

 

“I will,” Mike promises. “He’s really not that bad either, I just get to watch him all the time, and I can never do anything with my friends.” 

 

“Hard, but remember what I said, you can go home now,” he states and Mike do not have to be told  twice. He’s off and headed towards home. 

 

Their mum might have taken Anders home, but she hasn’t done a lot with him after that, more than given him some fruit. So Mike keeps his word and makes some pancakes, giving him a tall glass of juice with it. Even though he knows he will probably have to go up with him in the middle of the night. At least Anders do wake up. He also helps him to have a bath, allowing him to play with the bubbles. He’s still feeling bad over what he did and so nothing can really be too much trouble. Dressing Anders in his pajama and sending him to say goodnight to their mum, picking up a story book while he wait for Anders to come back. Anders climbs up in Mike’s bed, positioning himself by the wall as he’s a bit scared of falling out. 

 

“Story now,” he states, turning onto his side so he can watch Mike. 

 

“Okay,” Mike opens the book. He really do not care for having Anders in his bed, and he needs to take care of his homework, but he won’t complain. 

 

At least he was able to get Anders back

 

** The End **

 

_Please comment, the Cricket is hungry...._


End file.
